Mexico foreign direct investment down 46 percent in first 9 months

MEXICO CITY Nov 24 (Reuters) - Mexico registered foreign
direct investment (FDI) of $15.3 billion during the first nine
months of 2014, the country's economy ministry said on Monday,
down 46 percent from the $28.2 billion seen over the same period
last year.

The ministry said the weaker FDI in the January-September
period was due to U.S. telecoms company AT&T selling its
stake in Carlos Slim's America Movil to get regulatory
approval for its purchase of satellite broadcaster DirecTV.

In June, Slim bought back that stake for about $5.5 billion,
transferring the asset back into Mexican hands, and thus
declassifying it as FDI, the ministry added.

Mexico posted record FDI of $35.2 billion in 2013, nearly
double the level seen in 2012, mainly due to Belgian brewer
Anheuser-Busch InBev's acquisition of Mexican beer
giant Grupo Modelo, which brought in over $13 billion.
(Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)